The most expensive cards like the Lotus aren't legal in most formats. A format is like a league with specific rules.

The Vintage/type 1 format does allow lotuses, in quantities of one. Most non-wizards Vintage tournaments allow a set number of proxy cards, usually around 7-10 because of the Power Nine (Lotus and eight other ridiculous cards).

For most players the issue is recurring costs of new decks from rotation/metagame, or buying landbases if they play Modern/Legacy. Reprinting issues aren't limited to reserved cards.